The wrecking ball is hovering over the Mall Car Park.
Newcastle councillors will vote on Tuesday to award a contract for the demolition, which could make way for more apartments and the so-called Stairway to Heaven steps linking the harbour with Christ Church Cathedral.
In December, the council authorised chief executive officer Jeremy Bath to negotiate with Iris Capital about redeveloping the seven-storey King Street parking garage and building the steps.
The council said on Monday that those talks were ongoing, but it has development approval to demolish the car park in the meantime.
It would not say when the building would come down, but Mr Bath has made no secret of his desire to see it gone sooner rather than later.
The council has said it will ensure the building's 380 public parking places are included in a redevelopment.
Iris is the company behind the massive East End residential project along the south side of the Hunter Street Mall and enveloping the council-owned car park.
The stairway, first envisioned by EJE Architecture's Barney Collins in 2006, could include a pedestrian bridge spanning King Street to the grounds of the cathedral.
Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said last year that Iris could build the staircase in return for the car park land, "but that's all what's going to be negotiated".
Meanwhile, the council will also vote on approving a staging plan for the large Black Hill industrial estate.
The plan sets out how the redevelopment of the 183-hectare estate on the corner of the M1 and John Renshaw Drive will proceed.
The stage one works include an entrance with traffic lights off John Renshaw Drive, the location of which has been the subject of a long disagreement involving Broaden Management, the proponents of a similarly sized industrial estate on an adjoining property in Cessnock council area.
Broaden and Cessnock City Council want the entrance to be shared between the two estates along their common boundary, but the staging plan locates the road 225 metres east of the boundary line.
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